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White House aides couldn't have been more pleased at the failure of the
Democrats' attempt to get a no-confidence vote against Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales this week. While the Democrats managed to win over a few
Republicans, bringing to nine the number of G.O.P. Senators now publicly
opposed to Gonzales' continued service as head of the Justice Department,
the overall effect of the maneuver was to make it look as if the effort to
bring Gonzales down is stalling. But the relief at the White House and
Justice may be premature.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department's Inspector General, Glenn Fine, told
Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter, the top Democrat and Republican on
the Senate Judiciary committee, that he is looking into a controversial
conversation Gonzales had with his former counselor, Monica Goodling, as she
left the Department in April. Fine's conclusions are likely to be more important than those of the Senate: he launched a wide-ranging investigation into the firing
of U.S. attorneys last year, and a negative report from him could hurt
Gonzales in ways Congress couldn't. Fine's inclusion of the Goodling
conversation in his probe signals that he is looking directly at Gonzales'
role in the entire matter.

Late last month, Goodling testified before the House Judiciary Committee
that she requested the April meeting with Gonzales to ask for a transfer
because of the unfolding scandal surrounding the firing of U.S. attorneys
last year. Gonzales told her he'd think about the request, and then suddenly
began unveiling his recollection of the firings. "He laid out a little bit
of it, and then he asked me if I had any reaction to his
iteration," Goodling testified. She told the members of the committee that
the conversation had made her "uncomfortable" because she thought both of
them might be called to talk about the matter elsewhere.

Democratic Senators have suggested that Gonzales may have been trying to
coach Goodling ahead of Congressional inquiries into the matter. Sheldon
Whitehouse of Rhode Island said the conversation had the whiff of
obstruction of justice. Leahy and Specter wrote Fine on June 5 to ask
whether the Goodling conversation was, in fact, part of the Inspector
General's investigation. Fine, together with
the head of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility, responded in a letter Wednesday, which dryly
said, "This is to confirm that the scope of our investigation does include
this matter."

Gonzales's defenders say he did nothing wrong in the conversation. "The
Attorney General has never attempted to influence or shape the testimony or
public statements of any witness in this matter, including Ms. Goodling,"
said Justice spokesman Dean Boyd. "The statements made by the Attorney
General during this meeting were intended only to comfort her in a very
difficult period of her life."

The news of Fine's interest in the Goodling conversation comes at a time
when the Administration had been hoping to get past the scandal. Gonzales
and the White House have been fighting running battles with the Democrats
for the better part of three months now and the failed no-confidence vote
had been seen by some as a turning point. Republicans argued that it was the
last gasp of what they view as a political witch hunt. Democrats said the
vote won them new public support from Republicans and that it was simply
part of a long, steady stream of moves designed to keep the pressure on
Gonzales. This week the Senate Judiciary committee issued subpoenas for two
key White House officials as part of that effort. The subpoenas aim to pry
more information on the firing of former U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins in
Missouri and his replacement by Tim Griffin, a long-time operative for Karl
Rove.

Just how much trouble the Goodling conversation alone will make for Gonzales
remains to be seen. When pressed by the House judiciary committee, Goodling
said that while she was uncomfortable, she did not think that Gonzales was
trying to shape her testimony. Democratic Representative Artur Davis of
Alabama asked her, "Do you think, Ms. Goodling, the Attorney General was
trying to shape your recollection?" Goodling responded, "No."

But the fact that Fine himself is looking into it is a troubling development
for Gonzales. A former Rhodes Scholar and Harvard Law School graduate, Fine
is well respected in Washington and has the kind of credibility that could
damage Gonzales and the Bush Administration in ways that political players,
like Leahy and New York Senator Chuck Schumer can't. Fine's office told the
National Journal recently that he would issue a report "expeditiously."